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Just what the title says really, been looking for a way to get a degree in electrical/electronic engineering but need to be able to do it at home. i already have a HNC in electrical and electronic engineering. I thought the open uni would have been ideal for me but does not offer anything for electrical/electonic. Portsmouth only offers electronics degree and Bath offer an electrical power systems degree. is there anywhere that i could get electrical and electronic via distance learning?

See Portsmouth University. They offer a final year top up to BEng(Hons) in Electronic Systems Enginering - You'd cover VHDL, signal processing, analogue electronics, control, project management data communications among others. All delivered online. You'd just need to be available to get to an exam centre at the end of each semester. The course can be completed over one, two or three years, depending on your work load and commitments.

thank you for all your comments but after much searching there does seem to be anything for electrical/electronic. portsmouth is only for electronic, OU offers only two units, they are: electromagnetism and engineering small worlds. these are both level 3 subjects. the problem with the OU program is that it is too broad scope i think. so im back to where i started.

im thinking of contacting teeside uni maybe uping my hnc to a hnd. maybe try and top up from there to get the degree i want. distance learning is really my only option as i have kids and a mortgage and a fulltime job like many others. has anyone managed to get their degree this way?

They offer B.Eng and B.Eng Hons in Electrical Engineering, and you could incorporate some electronic and digital elements into your course by choosing appropriate optional modules. Their degrees are awarded by Lancaster University, which is a solid name to have on your degree certificate.

They don't operate on a full distance learning approach, instead offering a mix of assignments which you complete on your own at home interspersed with several intensive study weeks at the college itself.

I'm doing the Mech Eng B.Eng Hons at the moment, and love it. For each module you prep with prior reading and learning from supplied materials then roll up for your 5 or 6 day intensive residential week.

You'll work like a dog in class all week, hammering the books with a tutor and the other students and (generally) have an exam on the final day. You'll go home with an assignment or two which you send back over the following couple of weeks or so, and that's the module done and dusted.

Currently you can enrol and do 8 modules and be awarded your B.Eng, then if you wish you can go on and do another 8 modules and get your Hons top up. This halfway house B.Eng option is going to disappear soon though, and students will have to complete all 16 modules for the full B.Eng Hons, so speak to them soon if that route might appeal to you.

I'll gladly answer questions if you have any about the course, or you can ring the college themselves.... The engineering school admin office number is 01254-292455, they'll be happy to send you a prospectus. Alternatively, you could ask for the number of Alex Shukie, she's the course tutor for the engineering degrees and I'm sure she'd be happy to speak with you.

this route does sound appealing in that it doesnt take very long per unit and that it is quite intensive. it is however quite a distance from my self so would need some organizing to be able to attend. just out of interest how much on average is each unit and what availability. for example do they only run 1 subject per year, if you miss it you`ll have to wait etc. or is it more flexible than that. you could PM if you want to broadcast the costs.

I'm happy to reply here in the forum Bill, that way the info is available to others who might be interested...

The costs at the moment are (I think) very reasonable. The B.Eng and B.Eng Hons modules are about £150 - £160 per course. That covers the intensive week fee and any exam and marking required, as well as tutor support if you need it.

New students may pay a little bit more than that but I'm not sure as I count as a "continuing student" from my HNC/D. If it is higher I don't think it's a lot.

There's probably some final degree issuing fee as well, but that's likely to be standard wherever you go, and not a bank breaker.

Of course, you'll be aware that student fees are changing in a very big way so the pricing is no doubt under review. I have no idea what costs will be like in two years time, hideously expensive I'd guess. I'd advise getting stuck in now, with effort you could easily finish before the worst of the rises.

You're going to have travel and accomodation fees when you come up for each week, which will make things more expensive for you. Most of the lads stay in local B&B's or hotels of varying standards. From £25 ish at the cheap end up to whatever your budget is I suppose.

One of the (former) lecturers has a house 20 minutes out and he rents rooms to visiting students for a week at a time; about £100 for the week I think. Quite a few people stay there and it sounds like it works well as they all get around the table in the evenings and help each other with study and assignment work etc.

The intensive courses generally only come around once a year on the degree programme although the college will put on additional weeks where there is demand (this is usually for the mandatory modules which everyone needs to get on).

I can email you a current year course timetable if it would be helpful, along with a simple spreadsheet matrix thing showing which modules are mandatory and optional for the various degree "streams" (mech, electrical etc).

I'll pm my details in case those would be useful to you, you're welcome to get in touch.

thank you for this, your timetable would be very helpful if i could have a look at it, ive checked the website for the required subjects for various subjects and it looks to be just what im after. is there a limit/minimum to how much you do in one year.

Included are the intensive course timetables for the HNC/D, B.Eng and B.Eng Hons programmes. There's also a subject "stream" matrix, showing which courses are mandatory and which are optional for the various degrees (mech, elect, telecomms etc).

Most of those extend only to about july, they'll release timetables for later in the year in due course.

You can see that the HNC/D modules repeat quite often, as there are more students enrolled on those so demand is higher. There are fewer opportunities to take a course once you advance to B.Eng and (particularly) B.Eng Hons study.

I think you need to do a minimum of one course a year to stay enrolled, but if you need to mothball your study for whatever reason and miss a year (or more) you can simply re-enroll by filling in a form, I see other lads doing this quite often.

There's no maximum limit on the number you can pack in, and I speak from personal experience on this front! I've taken time off from work and am studying full time, all day every day at the moment. I'm in college pretty much every week doing a different course. I started in October, my HNC is done, my HND is almost done, and I have several B.Eng and B.Eng Hons courses under my belt.

I'll be done by the summer, HNC, HND and Hons Degree all in about 10 months flat.

That's not an approach I'd recommend for everyone, it ain't for the faint hearted, but it shows what's possible if you roll your sleeves up and get stuck in.

Am also interested in this option presented by you please can you also PM me the Timetables as well. Its quiet remarkable and laudable how you have completed your HNC in 3/4 months while i have been trying to motivate myself for a single module for almost a year now. This could be my saving grace. i would also appreciate any additional information.

I know this is an old post, but I've been looking for an online electronic course to bump up my HND to a BEng(hons).

For the benefit of anyone else searching for distance learning and stumbling on this thread (as I did!) ItSligo in Ireland run a selection of online degree courses.

I checked a year or two ago, and the IET recognise the qualifications, the only downfall (cost wise) is that you have to shell out for a trip to Ireland two or three times a year (more if you go for the mechatronics degree).

If I can convince the powers that be, I'll be going for the Portsmouth course as it's more local, and I have my second little one on the way, so I wont be wanting to leave the country too often!

For 5-6 years I ran a correspondence course ostensibly for would-be amateurs but indeed it was written to record my experience and it concentrated on making my pupils into budding engineers.

It was extremely successful until a heart-attack clipped my wings. I withdrew it because I felt unable to cope with the follow-up tuition. Later I offerred it on the Internet but Tesco withdrew their on-line bait.

I still have the course and would be delighted to send you a copy w/o charge as a celebration of my recent sudden return to life.

seems like ages ago i wrote this, havn't managed to start my degree yet due to my family getting larger. distance learning is something of a pain to get exactly what you want. but if i do get to go for this ill have to to it through the OU purely for the tuition fees loans and rising university fees.

should of done my degree when i had the chance nearly 12 years ago, live and learn